When players lean into some version of the cliché that they just want to take advantage of the opportunities given to them, it's not hard to find tangible examples of when that can happen. Like Sunday, when it was etched in stone that cornerback Starling Thomas V was going to miss the season.
When you scan the depth chart -- at least, when I did -- the first person I thought of was Kei'Trel Clark, the 2023 sixth-round pick.
(You also thought of the brutal turn of events for Thomas, by the way, who had outperformed his undrafted status and has his first chance at free agency, albeit restricted, after the season. What he will get for his next deal has undoubtedly been affected.)
Clark started seven games as a rookie, including the first four of his career. But his defensive time dwindled that year, and last season, he started just once. He was behind Thomas, and Max Melton, and Garrett Williams, and Sean Murphy-Bunting. And the team also spent a third-round pick on Elijah Jones last year (Jones missed the season with a foot injury) and drafted Will Johnson in the second round this year.
But Murphy-Bunting hurt his knee in the offseason and is out. Now Thomas. And Clark, who couldn't find footing to get on the field but now has a path -- and two years in this defense -- to get there.
"I do like where he is," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "I really like what he did the last two 'fast' days. We had a conversation, 'Hey, what are you seeing, what do I need to work on?' When that matches up to what he says -- that's from my eye, Nick's (Rallis) eye, Smitty's (DB coach Ryan Smith) eye, Monti's (Ossenfort) eye, PT (DB coach Patrick Toney), Book (assistant Ronald Booker), that's typically a good thing.
"He's focused on what he needs to work on. He's going to get every opportunity to show what he can do. I know what he can do. He can play good football."
Clark isn't the only option. Jones is going to try and make a push although he's behind having lost his first year. There are a couple of vets too -- guys like Darren Hall and Jaylon Jones among them -- to try and make headway. (Hall made the initial roster last year as a surprise.)
-- The Cardinals have their first padded practice of training camp on Monday, so there will be much more learned on the field, particularly at the line of scrimmage. But that meant Sunday was a "low" day, with players going half-speed and the defenders doing little once the ball was in the air. There was little to glean from any highlights given the circumstances.
-- It doesn't mean there was nothing to glean. It is interesting that the Cardinals on Sunday -- as they have done much of the offseason -- had a segment of practice where the main offense went against the backup defense at the same time on one end of the field as the backup offense when against the main defense on the other end. (I don't call it No. 1 offense v No. 2 because key rotational pieces of both top units stayed with the No. 1s, so it was more like the top 15 or so players with each group of "starters.")
-- There was a lot of red zone work for the offenses, especially with the passing game.
-- Tackle Paris Johnson Jr., asked about the muscle gain of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., one of PJJ's closest friends on the team. "Marv looks 6-6, 260, pure muscle," Johnson said, smiling. "The screen said 6-3, 220 but I don't know if they have been up close.
"It's kind of a joke when he comes into the huddle, '12 personnel!' He's about to run out (of the game) and we're like, 'No, no, it's 11 (personnel.)' We're not going to try that on a game day. It might mess up the timing."
